FAMILY ARCHIVE OF PRIEST LEONID HOSHKEVYCH (1868–1963)

Abstract

In the 18th – first half of the 20 th centuries, representatives of the Hoshkevych family played a prominent role in the history of church and religious life in Ukraine. In the article, the first attempt is made to systematise the Family Archive of the priest Leonid Hoshkevych’s family, which contains numerous documents not only of the priest, but also of his parents and brothers. Despite its value, the archive, which was stored in the funds of the Kherson Regional Universal Scientific Library named after Oles Honchar, has long remained in the shadow of Ukrainian research. Unfortunately, as a result of repeated barbaric and cynical attacks by the Russian army in November 2023, the library building was destroyed, and the fate of the archive that was stored there is currently unknown. The present article aims to inform the academic community about the preserved materials that were examined and later published in the author’s monograph. The article was originally intended to appear before the publication of the monograph; however, due to the difficult working conditions and the realities of wartime faced by the editorial team of the Zaporizhzhia Historical Review – whose dedication deserves the highest respect – the publication was delayed. Nevertheless, given the importance and relevance of the topic, it was decided to publish the article in order to acquaint English‑speaking colleagues with the preserved materials. The article is an English‑language version of one of the chapters of the monograph by A. V. Shevchenko.